Coqui’s Cafe
Stephanie was born and raised in Paris, KY. Elvin was born and raised in Hoboken, NJ. We have blended our American and Puerto Rican culinary traditions to create Coqui’s Cafe, which has reopened the New Albany diner affectionately known as Little Chef. Little Chef has been a staple in the New Albany community since it was built in 1957.
We serve traditional breakfast items and breakfast sandwiches as well as our signature seasoned pulled pork (pernil) and handcrafted burgers served on homemade rolls that are baked fresh daily. We also bake flan and pastries and will offer our signature sofrito (Puerto Rican seasoning) for sale under our name and logo.
Coqui’s Cafe’s emphasis is on organic foods cooked with ingredients procured from local farms and farmer’s markets. Our plan is to bring back the Mom & Pop feel to the quaint diner known as Little Chef, located on the corner of Market and Bank Streets in New Albany, Indiana.
We offer New Albany a menu filled with excellent, organic, meals seasoned with natural ingredients from local farms as well as fresh baked breads and rolls, flan, cakes and pastries. Our Puerto Rican/American fusion is simple – not overly spicy or overly priced. We are looking to bring new life to Little Chef. We are family friendly with something on the menu for everyone.
Coqui’s Cafe specializes in seasoned pulled pork, beef, chicken, and turkey served on fresh breads, with sides of yuca, rice, beans, our seasoned fried potatoes and yuca fries, rice pudding, sauteed veggies, and desserts. We also serve typical American breakfast items such as bacon/sausage and eggs in the mornings along with some typical Puerto Rican breakfast items such as Spam and eggs. Unbeknownst to most, Puerto Rican dishes are very similar to Southern American dishes and we are excited to share these two culinary traditions with our community.
We have strong ties to the Louisville and Southern Indiana communities and plan to procure as much product as we can from local farms and farmer’s markets. We believe strongly in the Shop Local movement and look forward to helping raise up our community’s economy by buying from our local merchants and farms. It helps that the farmer’s market is set up right outside our door!
Coqui’s Cafe will be working with the non-profit group “Exit 0” to help provide hot meals to the homeless in our area. Exit 0 has been instrumental in helping the homeless and displaced folks in Southern Indiana get the assistance they need to find jobs, get hot showers, clean clothes, shelter, and meals. Coqui’s Cafe will provide meal vouchers that Exit 0 will distribute to the men, women, and families they assist.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO SERVING YOU AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT!
Coqui’s Cafe needs to update the cooking equipment since the new Health Department and Fire Department codes require all gas equipment be replaced with electrical equipment. We need 1 electric griddle, 2 electric double burners, 2 electric deep fryers, some small wares, and working capital.